The Institute of War
by firefox488
Summary: The life and times of Lux and other champions as if the LoL were just a school for people with crazy powers and skills. There will be shipping, there will be mis-represented champs. Lux is the main character. The ships will most likely be mine... Expect awkward Garren older brother, Amumu and Annie cuteness, and shit to hit the fan.
1. Chapter 1: My walk

The day was rather bright. Perhaps unusually bright given that according to the news it was supposed to be mostly cloudy with a chance for rain. Regardless of the brightness of the day I still found my walk to be rather dreary and mundane. Mostly because the houses between my home and the school that I attend are dull and grey for the most part. Grey, off-whiteish slanted planks of a "wood" that is not even wood. It really just feels like plastic. You know what I'm talking about right?

With ugly green roofs. Nothing special, they were made in bulk after the war, the only thing that seems to change between the clone homes is that some have a back porch and some have a front porch.

My home was fortunate enough to have a back porch. With a very small yard that my brother uses mostly for cook outs.

Forgive me, I'm really bad with these inner monologue things. I'm not sure when I'm supposed to introduce myself. I just imagine it like a movie or a game. You'd have my voice telling you about me from the future, then as the movie goes on you discover I'm telling you all about the past then we reach the present… By then you'd know everything you needed to about me and I wouldn't have to tell you.

I don't even know who you are. I suspect you're just something I've made up in my mind to justify my inner thoughts talking about myself and the people and things around me.

This happens a lot. I mean a _lot_.

Anyway, these clone homes are all just barely off campus to the school I go to. It's an institute of sorts. It has a reputation for pitting the students against each other in combat for the sake of settling disputes.

I guess you know it as the Institute of War, where the infamous league of legends holds court.

It's not that great. Back in the day there was a debate on how the school could raise money. They decided since the school was there to train and restrain individuals whose power left unchecked could cause serious problems for the public at large, that the best option was to have these games and televise them. I'm sure you've seen a match on Summoner's Rift. Pretty much everyone has.

Well as time went on this ultimately became the primary attraction. People flock to train and learn from the teachers here.

I am one such student. My family was one of the first families to participate in the games and I was kinda expected to go into the LoL myself. Which I did, I followed my brother in. We're apart of D-house.

I should explain. There are a bunch of houses, basically co-ed fraternities who support certain ideas… Kinda like political parties or nations. D-house is an abbreviation for Demancia House, named after Jarvan Demacia, one of the co-founders of the school. Then there's N-house named after Briar Noxus who is the other co-founder. There are several other houses like Piltover, Zoun, Frejord. But they aren't nearly as prevalent D house and N house.

Of course, that's basically just a gym class. Those matches we "fight". It's all safe. Like a game of dodge ball or hockey. Some other _normal_ sport I'm sure you play at your school… Not that we don't play normal sports… Just not as much. What I'm basically trying to say is that contrary to popular belief there is an actual education program. I learn chemistry, physics, mathematics, all that stuff too… The LoL is only different in that because we all basically have these amazing super powers we get to use them.

Ugh… I just feel so weird… I'm walking to school through this boring ass neighborhood and I can shoot rainbows! It's so weird!

Ugh. Well My name's Lux. Welcome to my very plain life in school.


	2. Chapter 2: Emotions are weird

Well, I suppose this is a good as place as any to tell you a little bit more about how things actually function in the league. "Summoner's" is just a fancy term for referee. You may think the events you see on your t.v or computer screen are relatively exiting, maybe hard to regulate something like turning into a giant bird or hurling deadly toxins at people, but it's pretty strict on what we can and can't do.

For example. I can (in theory) blind someone permanently... Probably give them eye or skin cancer if I turned on the high beams so-to-speak. Naturally I can't go around giving my peers cancer. Likewise I can do a lot more with my powers than the four moves I use the most, but the compittion requires some fairness. You choose your most useful abilities. It used to be a free-for-all back in the day though, I read up on it, it seems like way back when t.v wasn't even in color and special effects were restrained to real explosions and prosthetic limbs the league allowed matches that would make the Geneva Convention shudder... But that's not allowed anymore for obvious reasons, the last thing I'd want is to be _eaten_ for real... That'd be as awkward as it would be stupid... And a really shitty way to die come to think of it...

But yeah, summoner's are referees to matches. Contrary to the "lore" our P.R(?) department posts they don't control us any more than the rules allow... Or restrict as it were. Not that I'm complaining, I like the rules, I really do. But I just recognize both sides of the argument

But that isn't as important as you'd think. Infractions on the rules are handled and dealt with swiftly. The only time I ever heard of someone ever getting expelled for breaking a rule was that thing with Riven... Which is a totally different story for a totally different time. As it stands right now allow me to wax on about the school itself.

The school is a massive campus expanding several miles in all directions, as I said before there are dangerous things that live here and the last thing anyone wants is for a rouge kog'maw on the loose down town. It's surrounded by a 300,000 meter high magic wall that protects the school and everyone in it, as well as ensuring those who enter are allowed to do so, it also keeps those who aren't allowed to leave inside. If you're like me and you commute you have a special magic badge that lets you through the barrier.

I know of only a handful of students who commute though, obviously one wouldn't want too many of these things around in case they got lost or something. My point is, have you ever stood really close to a van der graff generator for a long time? That's the feeling you get when you walk through the barrier, I hate it because it makes my hair all frizzy and it's a bitch to get back to normal before my first class. I do manage to do it though, mostly because I'm awesome right?

No? Well screw you too, I didn't even need you opinion anyway you strange creation of my own idle mind!  
-

My home room is possibly the greatest class I have. Mr. Heimerdinger is just the best... Odd, but he's just so cool! He teaches chemistry, engineering, physics, AP robotics, pretty much all the science related classes. He's overworked I think, but he still is able to manage all the work. He's so smart! I have a hard time even understanding him in normal conversation sometimes...

Not that I'm dumb. I'm not. I'm pretty smart I'd like to think. Just sayin' he's a lot smarter.

Apart from my teacher and myself my class consists of eleven other students, most of who seem to be sick today. Or are skipping. There's Galio though, and Xin. They're more my brother's friends than mine but they're nice enough to me.

"Alright class! Good morning! How was your weekend? I hope your studies went splendidly, I had a rather stunning breakthrough myself if you're interested."

I couldn't help but giggle a bit whenever Heimer began to talk. He was so short and cute and ugh! My goodness! I just love him I can't help it. He's like the genius dog, teacher, plushy I never had.

"Hey Prof. There's uhh... There's no one here. It's just us three. Do we uhh... Do we really gotta do stuff?"

Galio I should point out is a slacker and would rather be in the gym lifting. It wasn't that he was a dumb jock, it was that he just liked doing what he liked doing.

"Mr. Galio, if you knew half of what I did about education you'd know that a smaller class means more people tend to retain the information presented. In fact the situation we are in now is ideal for learning! With just the three of you I'll be able to cover so much! Now, if you'd be so kind as to take out your text books and turn to page 394 I'd entreat you to look at the image presented on the left. That is a graph detailing..."

Page 394 of our K-D-A ratios study book had a graph of the value of "Kills", Assists, and how they related to the negative value of a "death". It had lots of complicated statics related to situational circumstances. Apparently if you "die" from a tank it's worse than dying from the jungler, like wise dying from the carry is the worst possible death. If you died three times over the course of a match to the same player you were 'feeding' and it just went on like that. It didn't actually teach how to do better as players, just how bad we were if we died. To be honest there was little in way of circumstantial bonuses to the value of a kill. A kill was a kill. Then it went into what an assist was versus a stolen kill and I honestly wasn't looking at the page after that, or paying attention very much at all.

You see, I respect Heimy, I do... But he has a way of just talking too quickly and expecting me to just _know _what he's saying. This graph was really meaningless to me because I'm a support anyway. Kills weren't my specialty. Preventing deaths and getting assists, setting up kills. That was my specialty...

Well it was supposed to be anyhow. I often found myself killing a lot more than I should be for my ordained position. I guess I'm just versatile? I don't know. Today I was really just looking forward to the end of the day, or gym class, or lunch, or _anything_ that had my more of my actual, personal friends... I kinda like talking and it's hard to talk to Galio considering we have nothing in common. Xin might talk but he likes studying from what I knew of him. I know he was one of the few people who could get Garren to do his home work.

Not to mention we've had an awkward 'never talk to each other, but I'll smile sometimes at you while you wave at me weakly' relationship ever sense I shut him down after he asked me out.

I don't thin kwe hate each other. I _know _I don't hate him. He doesn't seem to hate me either but it's really just awkward between us. He'll come over for poker and he's the first to leave and I always thinks it's cause I walk in in my pjs which is admittedly skimpy in this season... Nothing revealing! I'm not like that! Just lazy clothes ya know? I don't know why he asked me in the first place. I thought he was gay for awhile, maybe even asexual... I think I sent the wrong signals. I feel terrible about what we are now. It's so strange because I'm not even sure why I said no. I just... I really didn't think we'd make a good couple.

That's what I told him anyway. I don't know. As I look at him in this large class room with no classmates besides us, his nose buried in our text book, furiously taking notes looking between the book, his note book, the main board and back again I can't help but feel like maybe I didn't give it a chance. I don't know. I wouldn't want to date a guy I don't love ya know? It would be terrible to break a guys heart because I fell in love with a different guy, I'd hate to do that.

In other news I've made lots of doodles on my paper. Warwick is nommin' on the now wooden leg of gangplank, with a very anime esque Jayce smiling like a suave gentleman while Vi pokes Cait... Ya know. Silly doodles that are not in the least related to my maelstrom of suck that is commonly called emotions.

This class can't end soon enough.


	3. Chapter 3: I hate Chemistry

Homeroom is always a class about wargames. Without exception. It's boring... It really is because seriously?! I know how to lane! Teach me something new! But whatever. The first real class of my day is Science, specifically chemistry. I hate that class. D-house doesn't have a Chem teacher, which won't mean much to you if I don't explain a little bit about how one gets a job here.

You see, it's not like anybody could teach here. Think about it, I already told you how I could possibly melt a guys eyes out of his skull. You need to be tough, you need to be skilled, you need to know how to handle kids like this. Which is to say you need to basically go to school here. Students usually find a job on or around campus, getting employed by people who went to the IoW. Some truly gifted students are even allowed to be teachers. In theory they're supposed to not have any preference for houses and alliances and usually only students from Zaun or Piltover house are allowed to teach (they don't have any official representation in the two main houses, so it's ok?) but as you can probably guess that isn't the case.

My Chemistry teacher is a junior. His name is Sean Ingeaned. He goes by Singed in most circles but if you're in D-house he'll drop your grade if her ever catches you calling him anything other than 'Professor' or 'Sir'.

He's an asshole. Don't tell him I said so.

But he is.

But the suck doesn't end there, oh no, not for Lux, for Lux the sucks just don't stop coming. That was dirty I'm sorry, but my point is the entire class is against me! I'll throw some popular names at you and you'll see where I'm coming from. Katerina, Draven, Darius, Cassiopia, Talon, and Swain when he can find the time to make it to a class. Being head of your house is hard, or so I've heard. Jarvan never talks about the inner politics that go on in the school but he always seems so tired. I hate chem. I just do. The teacher is garbage, the class is hardly a friendly place... I just feel like a deer in the wolves den.

I just feel so weird sitting next to Kat, that's the worst. It's not that she's mean, or aloof or anything. Actually it's the complete opposite! Her and my brother have this awkward "Totally would be dating if it weren't literally impossible to do so" thing going on. I mean, she's the big sister I always wanted! She's cool and calm, and knows what she's doing, she doesn't let all the petty nonsense affect her, and when kids are talking trash she shuts them up! She has alllll these realllly admirable qualities and we get along great! It's just... I mean... You know what I'm trying to not say right? At least I only have to deal with this class for 45 minutes, then we switch to second science.

Second science for me is physics and that is the best class in the world. You wanna know why little voice, conscious thing? I'll tell you. It's the reason why I can't focus in that class, why I write so much in my diary even though I'm probably old enough to have a blog for that sort of thing, why I can't think about kinetic energy without a little magic coming out of my fingertips! Mmmm two words little voice, two words...

Nathaniel.  
Jayce.

That's right little voice, is by far, the sexiest man to ever live ever and I'm crushing like and angry blitzcrank on him. Ohhhh my goodness, ugh! Just... Just yum! Ok so he's smart, he's funny, he's loyal, he's handsome annnnnd I hear his suits are custom made for uhmm... "special" reasons if you get me meaning(total winky face!), and he likes me... Well... I mean he prefers me in class. He really likes my magic. He does soooo many cool things with it. He's so mature! My goodness! Ugh! Like chocolate wrapped in success layered with sex appeal and brains dipped in fudge!

We're gonna get married. Three kids, one boy one girl and one happy accident that we were planning for. We'll have a very lovely social life with a large house that he made himself, I'll be a teacher here at the school and we'll keep our sex life spicy by doing naughty things in the teacher only areas...

Yes I have my dress little voice! I plan to have the wedding in spring, maybe someplace with cherry blossoms... Definitely someplace with cherry blossoms. The cake with be vanilla with a hint of bandanna and I'll save some frosting so that way the first night of the honeymoon he can-

"Ms. Crownguard! What the hell do you think you're doing?! Pay attention! You almost mixed vial A with beaker A! Have you even read the instructions? The contents in vial A are of a highly reactive nature! If they come in contact with the contents in beaker A, a power poison is created."

Singed walked from his elevated black desk, it was covered in bubbling mixtures, large phials on hotplates with green mixtures turning purple then back again. He always wore a surgical mask. it always creeps me out. His clean shaved head always made me think he was a nazi, and his strange fascination with experimentation didn't help that. His sickly yellow eyes looked into mine as he approached my work table where, admittedly, I had done nothing correctly. He looked into my eyes as he mixed the concoctions swiftly and with a great deal of haphazard finesse.

"It is a highly concentrated flesh eating miasma. You'd think you'd die of all the internal bleeding it causes but no, it allows your skin to feel and fall till your muscle is exposed, of course all of this beyond painful but what's more... It has a funny way passing by contact... Everyone you know would die miss crowguard. All because you were too busy thinking about whatever trivial little thing you had been thinking about... Knowing you it was a boy... Knowing your taste in men I've narrowed it down to Nathan, Xin, or your brother... Knowing you family... I suspect it's your brother..."

Singeds' voice was cold. I hated him so much. I reallly did. I hung my head low inhaling deeply as I bit my lip, stopping myself from calling him a sociopathic, nazi, meth head. His hand came to my shoulder and I recoil naturally. He was still mixing the potions without even looking at them.

"I wouldn't inhale too much. Not with your proficiency in idiocy. The next time you want to fantasize about nailing your brother I'd like you to stop whatever it is you're doing and leave my lab. I won't be responsible for any of your possibly life threatening mistakes. Are we clear?"

The chemical fumes coming off of him were horrendous. I could smell the paint thinner and battery acid on him still. How he got away with pinning those drugs on Riven was beyond me, this guy reeks of his habit like someone who just crawled out of dumpster. Without so much as looking at what I'd mixed or what he mixed, the chemicals all seemed to be a neutral gray color now. He put another paper in front of me as he got out of my face.

"There's the instructions for the lab in case you forgot. Now, get back to work miss crownguard. I'll be speaking to your housemaster about this."

And with that it was over. I felt like crying. I felt like doing that thing I think I can do to a mans eyes. I really just felt like we needed more chemistry teachers. I always suggested to Heimerdinger he should do it but he's got to put it past the school board and they just don't see a point in it...

I hate my school sometimes. I really, really do.


	4. Chapter 4: That awkward moment pt1

"Lux," Kat's voice was a whisper. I guess she didn't want anyone to hear her. She really looked like she wasn't even talking to me. "Girl are you alright? Sean is just a little kiss up prick. If Swain were here he'd never have gotten away with that... If you wanna talk we've got P.E later... Just if you want to."

I felt a twinge in my heart a bit. I mean, it's not like I didn't think Kat would stick up for me in front of all her peers but... I mean c'mon? The least she could do is take me out of the class so we don't have to be sneaky. Kat was always sneaky though. I don't think I've ever seen her leave a room unless I was deliberately watching her. She was just one of those types of people, someone who blends into a room and group as if she'd been there forever but is clearly from a group that isn't yours. She can step in without detection, get her words and laughs in, then step out and no one notices. No one ever sees her coming... Well most don't. Or going for that matter...

I guess that's a story for another time though. It's... Well it's more a story of my brother really. I was younger then, just a little girl. It's still one of the only times I ever saw her leave. It was dark and raining...

But then isn't it always...  
_

The night was cold and quiet save for the tapping of light raindrops on the roof of the window of a small room. The wallpaper is colored to look like a blue sky, fluffy clouds painted in poor misrepresentations of animals, all parting to view a well made if not childish looking rainbow on the wall opposite the bed. On this small bed with pink covers and white pillows sits a little girl. Her blond hair has just seemed to be pulled from a braid. Her body is stark and agitated, something has clearly disturbed her. She looks anxiously out the window at the tree that looms over her yard. In a night like this it looks like cold talons of smoke, hanging over a bed.

Lux has been having terrible night terrors and tonight she has decided that the best option for her is to not go to sleep. She has been braiding and unbraiding her hair to keep herself awake. As she looks out her window, counting the countless shadows that seem to twist and fade with every flash of lightning, she sees a dark figure in one such flash. The assailant is in dark clothing but her crimson hair is a dead give away. The cat like crimson prowler slinks into her yard like a stray, quickly finding an easy route to an open window from the rain spout.

The window is close enough to be her brother's. The young, very sleepy but stalwartly suborn child is naturally very curious as to why her sibling would leave his window wide open in a storm and further more, what kind of dubious things an aspiring burglar could get up to in there at this time of night. Naturally the only option at hand was to forgo standard safety procedure (calling the police), and instead venture into the possible dangerous situation.

Lux blinks a few times, gaining her senses as a look of confidence comes to her face. She slinks out of her bed in her baby blue footsie pajamas, the ones with the rainbows on them to ensure her sneakiness, takes her "my first wand" girls wand, because she was not a boy, and crept toward her door to open it slowly.

Despite the loud, prolonged squeak the door made as it opened and the very obvious sound of a door slowly unlatching Lux was certain her sneakiness was at its maximum. She was keeping low, lifting her legs just high enough and pressing them down just softly enough so that way only she and whatever monsters were totally _not_ in the upstairs broom closet could hear. She snuck past the open bathroom door, the light off and the window open... The theif clearly had to use the potty before stealing things... At least the thief left the seat down, this thief was at least a very considerate thief... Or maybe it was a girl thief. Girl thieves were not Luxs' favorite thieves, but they were pretty. Lux preferred the good thieves, like sly cooper or the gray fox.

Little Lux approached the entrance to the crime scene, her wand at the ready. She concentrated very hard, her light spells were very good but she still needed complete focus to must her best light spell. Thieves clearly were like monsters. Monsters didn't like the light, and neither did thieves. This led Lux to the entirely reasonable conclusion that this thief, no matter how polite and pretty she may be, could be vanquished with a strong enough light spell.

Lux put her hand on the doorknob as her spell reached its full charge. She moved as swiftly as the cops on t.v did in similar situations throwing open the door as fast as she could and pointing her spell into the center of her brother's room.

" Freeze thief! I explode you with light! Take this! Demaciaaaaaaa!"

"What the-?!"

"I told you she was awake!"

In a flash of light the red head thief was indeed a girl. She was sitting beside the very very surprised Garren, a boy in his adolescent years. His hair slightly longer than he would have it later in life but most certainly shorter than how he would wear it _much _later in life. In contrast to Garren (who was blocking his eyes, trying to give them time to adjust to the light change) the pretty red head thief seemed to be completely ok with the light change, as if she had known it was going to happen and her eyes adjusted to it before it happened. Could this thief see into the future?

"Ahh! Lux! What are you doing! Turn that light off!"

Lux knew how it felt to have a bright light shined in her face when it was very dark before, but this was for the greater good.

"This is for the greater good Garren! It's my duty as your sister to protect your things from sneaky, sneak thieves! Quick while she's stunned! Grab your sword of thruthiness!"

Katerina laughed a bit, shielding her eyes a bit.

"Oh sorry kiddo. I didn't mean to sneak in. I just uhmm..."

Kat looked to the now blushing Garren, she herself was barely older than he was. She did seem it though. Her outfit was slink, but she had dressed for rain. Her wet black leather jacket was laying on the floor. The confused, and entirely embarrassed Garren looks around his room, trying to find an excuse for this strange girl in his bedroom at this late hour.

"She's scared of doors!"

"I'm afraid of doors?"

Kat looked to Garren as if he really didn't have a brain. Surely he could think of a better excuse.

"Yes. She's afraid of doors and uhmm... The suuuun? Yeah the sun... It's why she's so pale."

Katerina quickly drove a finger into a pressure point on the young liar. Smiling at the young intruder as she spoke to her sorta boyfriend through clenched teeth.

"If you keep this up you'll be the only one grabbing your sword."

Garren responds in kind by grinning through the pain.

"Just smile and wave kitten, just smile and wave."


	5. Chapter 5: That awkward moment pt2

Little Lux looked at the would be lovers, blissfully unaware of the situation she most likely had put an end to.

"That... Makes more sense... So... She isn't a sneaky sneak thief?"

At that Kat looked to Garren with a skeptical grin. Kat was a very good liar, Garren was not. It wasn't wrong. She was a sneaky sneak thief... She practiced an art of ninjitsu so that did make her a sneaky sneak, and she had the intention to steal something tonight... So she was a sneaky, sneak thief... But she had gotten caught before she could take what she came for... SO she wasn't a thief yet? It was an awkward situation. It was best to say that yes indeed, Katerina was a sneaky sneak with intention to thief... If that makes sense.

Garren laughed nervously, more a nervous chuckle, as he looked to his little sister.

"I invited her over. It's alright Lightbright."

Lux blushed a bit, frowning in her embarrassment. Katerina jabbed Garren again, in the ribs looking at him with a hint of disappointment.

"You don't throw around pet names in front of strangers Garren. It's not polite."

"But you're not a stranger!"

"I am to her. I know you call her lightbright but she didn't know that. Pet names are very important to girls, it's an intimate thing! You don't go blurting it out like that!"

"Ok! Ok! Sorry Lux! I didn't mean to call you lightbright in the company of someone you don't know!"

"You did it again Garren..."

"Sorry! Gosh..."

Lux only stared a bit, wondering why her brother and this woman were arguing like their parents did. It was weird. Not to mention she didn't understand why this girl was in what looked like a bra and jeans and nothing else. That was a little silly to be running around in the rain in... And embaressing to run around in period... Though... She was afraid of the sun... So if she ran around at night with that on no one would see her, she'd just be cold... And she _did _have a jacket...

This woman was odd but o.k. Clearly she knew what she was doing, even if it looked like she was a sneaky sneak thief.

"It's o.k. She seems nice... My name is not lightbright. My name is Lux and I'm sorry I thought you were a thief."

Lux extended an open hand to the crimson haired Katerina, who accepted it with unexpected firmness.

"Katerina. I'm sorry to have worried you. I hope I can get to know you a little bet-"

A yell in the night broke the introductions and apologies. It was an angry howl, like a roaring bear.

"KATERINA DE COUTEAU! WHERE ARE YOU!"

Kat shot a worried look to her would be lover lunging off him, grabbing her coat and leaping over the bed and into the window frame, turning there to give a weary smile at the duo before simply mouthing "bye" before going out, the same way she came in, sliding down the water spout and into the storm. An awkward silence hung in the room, the siblings looked to each other slowly, then at the window. They stayed there a few moments, able to hear the shouting from next door.

"She seemed nice."

"Yeah..."

"I can't wait to see her again!"

"Yeah... Me either... Night Lightbright."

"Night mighty moe."

Lux left her brother's room, him following her as to close the door behind her. Lux had no intention of sleeping still. These nightmares were brutal and frightening and shook her body to the core. A traumatizing feeling of dread and helplessness stalks her in her sleep. Everything she knows, everything she was taught about light. How it extinguishes the dark... Is directly contradicted. These nightmares offer and realm of eternal shadow from which no light can escape. But that's not enough. No the terror doesn't end there. While this ever encroaching darkness pursues her, there is a voice. A voice in that darkness. It speaks of nothing but shadows and the death there held within. It speaks of fear and futility, it speaks of horrors only a child could truly imagine...

It calls itself Nocturne.

At this very same time. A boy is lost in his own sleep, plagued by his own nightmares. Locked in a perpetual coma the only one who is left to sit by his side is his elder brother, a sickly boy himself. The comatose child rolls in his sleep, unable to wake, mumbling and sometimes screaming about creatures beyond imagination. A realm that is destined to overcome this one and drag it into the darkest depths of a hole in nothingness. A void in the universe. Sometimes he wakes and draws terrible images of monstrous, insect-like creatures. Serrated limbs, with rows and rows of teeth. The religious say he's possessed. The scientific say he's afflicted. He rolls in his sleep tonight, his brother clutching his hand as tightly as he can, trying to offer him some comfort. Anything to ease this madness that has taken his brother.

"Malzahar, Malzahar... Please... Please it's me Kassadin... Please... Wake up... Fight this. Y-You're stronger than this..."

Malzahar only thrashes, in his sleep, his head bolting left and right as he mumbles.

"What's wrong... Tell me... I'll help you, j-just tell me little brother. I promise. I promise, I'll do anything just let me help you!"

As Kassadin squeazes his brother's hand tightly, Malzahar turns to his brother abruptly, his free hand coming to Kassadin's temple. At his touch Kassadin's eyes light up, his vision blurs a moment before he comes upon a strange land, filled with odd flora. There, his brother stands.

Looking at a caterpillar.

Kassadin runs to his brother, no regard to what is going on. He goes to him shaking him as Malahar mumbles at the caterpillar.

"Malzahar! Malahar! What are you saying? Are you trying to tell me something? Speak up! I-I can't help you if I can't hear what you're saying! Malzahar please! Snap out of this!"

At this Malzahar slowly turns around slowly, causing Kassadin to recoil in horror, backing up slowly.

His dear brother has no face.

Suddenly his voice comes from nowhere it seems, or everywhere... Perhaps it simply comes from within Kassadin's own mind. His brother's voice echoing in the everything of this strange place.

"Show and tell,  
Show and tell.  
Falling sky,  
Shriveled sea.  
Can't you see,  
Can't you see?  
This is not hyperbole.  
Ruptured earth,  
Blackened Sun.  
You may try to hide or run,  
hide or run.  
Not matter what, They will come.  
They will come,  
They will come.  
They will come,  
When the day is done.  
We will fall,  
we will fall.  
The void will consume us all."

Kassain stares at his faceless brother, then cautiously moves to him ignoring the chill of fear moving up his spine. He pushes past his brother lightly to look at the white caterpillar on an unnaturally large purple and red leaf. He bends in closer, closer, trying to see what his brother may have saw. This is the only other living thing around it seems. To Kassadin, this must be what was causing his bother's torment.

"You... You're doing this to him... What... What are you?"

The caterpillar looks up at Kassadin, a large, multi-toothed grin on it's little face.

"CRunCh, CRunCh goEz tHe mUnCh!  
MUnch MUnch GoOeZ the CrUNch!  
MuNCh ThE cRunCH! mUnch tHe CrUNch!"

Kassadin had had enough of this creature's nonsense and brought his thumb to it. Crushing it beneath his thumb with a satisfying, if not slightly sickening, -Spliquirk- sound. After a long silence Kassadin looked on his literally de-faced brother... But now he had a face.

The face of the caterpillar. When it opened its mouth a mix of both voices crippled Kassadin's senses.

"Show and tell,  
Show and tell.  
Falling sky,  
Shriveled sea.  
Can't you see,  
Can't you see?  
This is not hyperbole.  
"CRunCh, CRunCh goEz tHe mUnCh!  
Ruptured earth,  
Blackened Sun.  
You may try to hide or run,  
hide or run.  
Not matter what, They will come.  
They will come,  
They will come.  
MUnch MUnch GOeZ ThE CrUNch!  
They will come,  
When the day is done.  
We will fall,  
we will fall.  
MuNCh ThE cRunCH! mUnch tHE CrUNch!  
The void will consume us all."

Kassadin gripped his head, as if this action would stop the madness running into his now bleeding ears. His eyes wept blood as he looked on his non-borther and the vile mind bending horror it had become. The no-borther then seemdd to move toward Kassadin, it's maw dripping with green, acid like spit. It opened up wide, it's forked tongue flailing inside its mouth, the many rows of teeth shining like polished daggers in sunlight.

"MUNCH THE CRUNCH! MUNCH THE CRUNCH!"

As the thing descended on the young man, a ghostly purple blade skewered the open mouth, and tore upwards, splitting it in two. The blade seemed to be projected from a thick metal gauntlet. Kassadin's eyes traveled upward, viewing his savoir as the voices slowly faded into nothingness, his sanity returning. The figure was clad in a suit of dark metal, pipes coming from his face with horns on the top. An octopus with horns was the best way to describe the helmet. It came down into a tight body carapace, ending with a long skirt of sorts. It was truly frightening... In a calming way.

"W-Who are you?"

The figured remained silent. Then quickly pulled the young Kassadin out of the way of a pouncing preying mantis like creature, who was quickly gored on the warrior's ghost blade. With a quick flick of his wrist, the warrior opened a purple vortex.

"Go. Kill your brother. It is for the greater good. He will not look ill when you see him, but the seed will fester. He will kill many people. You must kill him for the greater good of mankind."

Before Kassadin could react, he was forced through the portal. When he opened his eyes he was looking at his younger brother, laying in the gurney looking at him with tears in his eyes.

"Kassadin... D-Did you see? I-I tried to show you... Y-You squished it... Y-You stopped it..."

Kassadin looked at his brother, embracing him. Weeping alongside his brother, rubbing his back.

"It's o.k buddy... It's gonna be o.k... I'll stop them all if I have to... I'm just happy to see you're o.k!"

While the brother's embraced nurses looked on in shock. The comatose boy was sitting up, holding his brother.

It was a miracle. A wish come true.


End file.
